please help me identify mark??

[elfisho]

i have recently been clearing out my home and i found what appears to be a silver brooch.when looking for a hallmark on the back all i could find are letters just saying SILVER .could this be fake or plated???

[volpone]

It would be helpful to post images of front, back, and a close-up of the mark. I have seen small antique pieces marked just "silver," but there is no fineness indicated; if it is important to you to determine the precise silver content, you would need to test the metal. Doing so is often destructive to antique/vintage pieces, though; I would not recommend it if the value of the piece is intrinsically in the design, age, and condition rather than scrap value.